Member States

Divided after their failed 2017 secession bid, Catalan separatists will rally in Barcelona on Wednesday in a test of strength before a Spanish court rules on the fate of those who led the independence push.

Italy's PM Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday that his new government is getting straight down to work after winning the second of two confidence votes in the upper house of parliament on Tuesday, ANSA reported. On Wednesday Conte is meeting European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen, the outgoing EC chief Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk for talks in Brussels.

German authorities have drafted a bill to fully ban single-use plastic bags from next year, news wires reported. Under the law, supermarkets and other retailers will be barred from offering lightweight plastic carrier bags at their checkouts, including those now marketed as being biodegradable or being made from renewable sources instead of petroleum.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte on Monday won the first of two mandatory confidence votes on his new coalition of rival parties, news wires reported. Conte's second government is based on the alliance between the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). They made a pact after League leader and former interior minister Matteo Salvini pulled the plug on Conte's first government last month.

Hundreds of migrants arrived on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos over the weekend and in the early hours of Monday, official figures showed. A total of 227 migrants landed on the island between midnight on Sunday and 9.30 a.m. on Monday, according to the police, with another 228 reaching Lesvos from neighboring Turkey on Saturday and Sunday.

Italy's candidate for the European Commission Paolo Gentiloni on Friday had an hour's talks with European Commission President-designate Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, ANSA reported. Gentiloni, chairman of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), is a former premier and former foreign and farm minister.

The surprised coalition deal between the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), two bitter rivals in the past on the Italian political scene, gave last week a birth of a government, headed by the outgoing PM Giuseppe Conte. On Wednesday he handed President Sergio Mattarella the list of his 21 ministers, who were sworn in a day later.

Italian premier-designate Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday afternoon handed President Sergio Mattarella the list of his 21 ministers, news wires reported. The new cabinet was created after a coalition deal between the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

British PM Boris Johnson on Wednesday asked for holding snap election on 15 October after lawmakers seeking to prevent a no-deal Brexit dealt him a humiliating defeat in parliament. Parliament’s move leaves Brexit in limbo, with possible outcomes ranging from a turbulent no-deal exit to abandoning it at all.

Revived “yellow vest” protests against the government of President Emmanuel Macron took place in France on Saturday, news wires reported. Hundreds of demonstrators faced police in a tense stand-off in the French city of Nantes. Police responded with tear gas after some protesters threw projectiles.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that it would require a "feat of strength" in order for Germany to reach its climate goals by 2030 as planned, news wires reported. "Climate change is a challenge for humanity. In order to deal with this challenge, it will require a real feat of strength," Merkel said in the video posted on the chancellery's official website. She pointed out that passing climate legislation was necessary in order for the country to be able to achieve its goal of producing 65% of energy from renewable sources by 2030.